Neverwhere: Ratgirl
by Violetlight
Summary: I wrote this story originally as an English project. I got an A, so I think it's pretty good. Neverwhere is an great book and I recomend to anyone who wants to read a modern fantasy. This fic has to do with a character who disappeared in chapter 4


**NEVERWHERE: RATGIRL**

By Violetlight

Disclaimer: All characters in this story, with the exception of Trev, are the property of Neil Gaiman, the author of Neverwhere. This fan fiction story was written for entertainment purposes only so please don't sue me since I have nothing anyway.

Based on the novel, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman/ ©1996 /Avon Books Inc. / New York, New York

* * *

"Oh . . . my head." Anaesthesia sat up, blinking her eyes and rubbing her sore head, and slowly looked around her. "Where am I?" She wondered. She was sitting in the middle of a small cell, like a cage. In the dim light she could see the outlines of other cages, holding other people. Then, she remembered. The Nightsbridge, taking that Upworlder to the Floating Market, getting pulled down under the bridge. Anaesthesia, the Rat-Speaker girl, had been taken as the Nightbridge's toll.

Anaesthesia had heard stories of what happened to the people the bridge took. They were never heard from again, believed to have met a terrible death at the hands of the creature that supposedly lived under the Nightsbridge, an indescribable monster, known only as the Troll. Anaesthesia had been through a lot in her life, all of which had prepared her to fight that fate. She was, after all, a Rat-Speaker, one of the most resourceful people in London Below. If anyone could find a way out of this cage, she could

She looked around again, searching the bars of the cell for a weakness, a rusty bar, a lock she could pick, anything. She found nothing. Sighing, she sat down. The bars were strong, without a speck of rust and the lock on the thick, metal door to her cell was on the outside. She was trapped and it would only be a matter of time until the Troll got hungry.

"It's hopeless," she sighed. She wondered if Richard, the Upworlder, had escaped, made it to the market and found the Opener, Lady Door, of if he too had been captured, locked in one of the countless cells under the bridge. She hoped he had made it. If Richard had been able to meet up with the Lady Door, he stood a much better chance of surviving in London Below. Frankly, she was surprised the cowardly Upworlder had survived as long as he did. Most like him never made it through their first day in London Below, killed by the first person they managed to annoy. Still, something about him fascinated her. Maybe it was his naivety, his ignorance about the dangerous world. Maybe it was the fact that he was from London Above, reminding her of her past, what it was like for her those first few days after the rats had found her, lying sick, almost dead, under the overpass in Notting Hill where she had lived after running away from her aunt and her aunt's horrible boyfriend. Anaesthesia shuddered at the memory, then reminder herself that now she was a Rat-Speaker. She didn't want to die like this, a prisoner of a bridge monster. There had to be a way to escape!

Suddenly, she heard a scratching sound in the corner of her cell. Anaesthesia smiled. She stood up, turned around, and faced a small, black rat. "Sire," she greeted him, curtsying low. The rat chattered, looking at Anaesthesia with its beady, black eyes. "Yes, my lord, I am trapped in here," she answered him respectfully. "Thank you very much for your gracious offer." She reached into her tangled, brown hair, pulled out a hairpin, (she always kept one, in case of emergencies) and handed it to the rat. It held the pin in its mouth and crawled between the bars of the cage, scurrying towards the outside of the heavy, metal door. Anaesthesia ran to the other side of the cage and stuck her arm through the bars closest to the door. The rat stepped onto her hand and she lifted it up gently, reaching towards the lock as the rat balanced itself on the tips of her fingers, stuck the pin into the lock with its mouth and turned its head around as far as it could. "Yes!" Anaesthesia said excitedly, hearing a click as the door unlocked.

Pulling her arm, and the rat, back inside the cell, Anaesthesia smiled. "Thank you for your help, Master Sharpteeth. Now, how may I serve you?" The rat chattered sharply, squeaked, and jumped into Anaesthesia's skirt pocket. "Yes, sire, I'm leaving here and I'll take you with me," she assured him, opening the door and rushing outside.

Staring into the darkness, Anaesthesia searched for an exit. She spotted a ladder and started running towards it, not wanting to stay in this dark, dreary place a minute longer. She was almost there when a voice called from one of the other cells. "Hey, you out there! Get me out of here!"

Anaesthesia kept running. She didn't have time to rescue anyone else; the Troll could be back at any minute, but Master Sharpteeth had other ideas. He squeaked sharply from Anaesthesia's pocket. "But sire, we can't, the Troll . . ." she began. The rat squeaked again. "Very well." Anaesthesia sighed, running to the cell and picking the lock. A boy, with scraggly, shoulder length blond hair, about seventeen years old, stepped out.

"Thanks," he said. Suddenly, they heard a loud roar behind them. The Troll had discovered that Anaesthesia had escaped, spotted the two teenagers near the ladder and was rushing towards them!

"Run!" Anaesthesia screamed. Grabbing the boy's arm, she ran to the ladder and scrambled up it, the boy right behind her, the monster at their heels. They climbed through a manhole, emerging into a sewer, and kept running, hoping the monster wouldn't catch them.

* * *

"So, what's your name?" Anaesthesia asked her companion. They had been walking through the sewers for an hour in silence. Now, Anaesthesia wanted to know just whom she had rescued.

"My name's Trev," he replied. "What's yours?"

"Anaesthesia. Whose barony do you belong to?"

"Barony?" Trev asked. "Oh, right. That's how you organize things in London Below. We don't do that where I come from."

"Where are you from?" Anaesthesia asked.

"Toronto Below." Trev answered. "It's a long way from here, across the ocean in Canada. It's a nice town, well, as nice as any City Below can be, I guess. Were you going to the Floating Market too when you got caught?"

"Yeah, I was escorting this stupid Upworlder there, Master Longtail's orders." They walked into a patch of light and Anaesthesia got her first good look at Trev. He was taller than she, about five foot six, and was wearing a dirty red t-shirt and ripped blue jeans, but still looked better than she did, in her raggedy old dress. She then noticed his ears. The tips of them were long and pointed, reminding her of a character she had seen on a television show years ago, when she still lived in London Above. What was it called? _Star Trip_? _Star Track_? Something like that; it didn't matter. It looked kind of weird, but maybe it was a family trait, like how the Openers had multi-coloured eyes. Whatever the reason, Anaesthesia thought they looked kind of cool.

"You're a Rat-Speaker?" Trev asked. His smile faded and when he noticed Master Sharpteeth, now curled up asleep in Anaesthesia's pocket, he scowled. "I'm a Speaker too, but my people's animals are much better than those disgusting little furballs."

"Hey, this 'disgusting little furball' helped me escape. Without him, we'd be dead, or worse, right now!" Anaesthesia snapped. As a Rat-Speaker, she was overly protective of the little creatures and hated it when someone would insult them. She and Trev walked on in silence for a while, ignoring each other. Finally, after about twenty minutes, Anaesthesia asked him, "Why were you going to the market?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. Her name's Hunter; have you seen her?" Trev asked.

"Hunter? You mean _the_ Hunter!" Anaesthesia gasped. "The best bodyguard and warrior in all the Cities Below! You're friends with _that_ Hunter?!"

"Yes, that Hunter." Trev answered, annoyed. "Of course that Hunter! How many other Hunters are there! Anyway," he continued, "she was supposed to be auditioning for a bodyguard job for some little rich girl named Door."

"The Lady Door. That's who the Upworlder, Richard, wanted to see too. Maybe if we stick together, we can both find the Lady Door and our lost friends."

"That's a good idea," Trev admitted, "even if I do have to put up with rats. Where do you think we'll find her?"

"Well, the next Floating Market takes place in a few days. She'll probably be there."

"Will we have to go over that bridge again?"

"No, the next one's on that warship docked near Tower Bridge," Anaesthesia answered, referring to the H.M.S. Belfast, one of London Above's biggest tourist attractions. "Each Floating Market takes place in a different part of London Below, sometimes miles away from the last one."

"I know that," Trev said sarcastically. "We got them in Toronto too, you know."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Anaesthesia sighed. "Don't have a fit. Anyway, until then, I know a place we can go where we'll be safe."

* * *

Anaesthesia and Trev walked for hours through dark, damp, dingy sewers, sometimes climbing up through manholes and cutting across the streets of London Above before descending into the pipes again. That night, the two curled up together on a platform in a long-abandoned subway station, sleeping in each other's arms for warmth against the cold, underground night. When daylight came, they continued on their trek. After walking for hours through the maze of pipes that made up London's sewer system, they made it to the Rat-Speaker's lair, but everyone was gone! Where once over a hundred people had lived, only bits of garbage and burnt-out firepits showed that the place had been occupied at all.

"Where is everyone?" Anaesthesia wondered, looking around the abandoned cavern, confused.

"Are your people nomads?" Trev asked from behind her.

"Yes, but we weren't supposed to move for another month or so."

"Don't worry; maybe something just came up, "Trev said, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure they're fine. If your people are anything like mine or any of the other Speakers I know of, they're a hard bunch to get rid of. We'll see them again." But as Trev finished speaking, a loud roar echoed through the cavern, coming from one of the outgoing pipes. "What was that?" he whispered, looking around the cavern in alarm.

"I don't know," Anaesthesia said nervously. Suddenly, Master Sharpteeth jumped out of her pocket, scurried up to the pipe and darted inside. "Wait, sire, where are you going?!" she yelled, chasing after the rat. She ran to the pipe and darted inside it herself.

Trev grabbed her arm from behind. "You idiot!" he hissed. "Don't risk your neck for that little furball! Who knows what's down that pipe!"

"I promised to help Master Sharpteeth." Anaesthesia hissed back. "Let go of me, NOW!" Shocked at the anger in her voice, Trev let go of her arm and Anaesthesia ran after the rat. Trev stared after her stupidly for a few seconds, then, cursing himself for letting her get away so quickly, he pulled out his favourite weapon, a crossbow, and ran after the Rat-Girl.

Following the rat to the end of the tunnel, Anaesthesia gasped as Master Sharpteeth joined three other rats. One was much larger than the others, almost as large as a cat, with beautiful golden fur. Anaesthesia recognized him instantly as the Golden, the King of all the rats in London Below. The Golden was squeaking angrily at three shadowy shapes standing near him, the other rats chattering their support. Anaesthesia moved closer and saw the shadowy creatures more clearly. Alligators! Three, enormous sewer gators! Two were about five metres long with tough, green, scaly skin and were snapping their huge jaws and growling angrily at the rats. The third was much larger, about nine metres long and his hide was lighter, almost white. That must be their king. Anaesthesia thought. The gator-king and the Golden were standing in front of a large, drainage pipe, arguing loudly.

Trev finally caught up to Anaesthesia. "You okay?" he asked, noticing that she was standing strangely still. He looked into the darkness himself, and saw the two groups of animals fighting. A strange smile, more like a smirk, formed on his lips. He bowed down low to the alligators.

Anaesthesia was shocked. "You're a Gator-Speaker?" she sputtered, already knowing the answer.

"I told you my people's animals were better than those disease-infested furballs you worship." Trev smirked. He listened to the animals' argument for a few more minutes. His smile faded and he turned to Anaesthesia and snapped. "By the way, did you know that your precious little furballs have been stealing gator eggs?!"

"Well those lizards have been eating rats by the hundreds!" Anaesthesia snapped back. "That's why my people moved, because all the rats around here have been eaten by those fossils!"

"The gators have lost almost all their children! Rats have stolen their eggs and your Rat-Speaker friends have destroyed entire nests! In fact, how do I know you haven't killed baby gators in their shells yourself!" Trev and Anaesthesia glared at each other, all reason gone. They were both affected by the Curse of the Speakers, being unable to think of anything but their animals, forgetting that they had traveled together for 2 days now, had started to become close friends. Like the rats and the gators, right now, they wanted to kill each other.

Trev was the first to snap. His pointed his crossbow straight as Anaesthesia's neck. "Now you know why I hate rats!" he yelled, letting an arrow fly.

Insanely quickly, Anaesthesia jumped to the side, the arrow grazing her arm. She pulled out her knife and before Trev knew what had happened, she had it at his throat. "And I hate gators." she hissed coldly. Trev elbowed her in the chest and she dropped the knife. He jumped away, but not soon enough as Anaesthesia kicked him in the shin. Gasping, she dove for the knife. Neither she nor Trev noticed in the midst of their fight that the drainage pipe behind the Golden and the alligator-king had begun to drip water, slowly at first, then much faster. Suddenly, a torrent of water engulfed the beasts, washing them downstream.

Their bloodrage suddenly gone, Trev and Anaesthesia rushed to help the animal kings. Trev jumped to the side of the stream, worried about the gator-king. He breathed a sigh of relief as the alligator, a strong swimmer, righted itself in the water and started to swim to shore. The Golden was not so lucky, though. The rat was caught in the flashflood, unable to swim, barely keeping its head above water. Without a second thought, Anaesthesia jumped into the raging stream and swam frantically towards the rat-king. She managed to grab hold of him but then realized that she too was now caught in the current. "Help!" Anaesthesia screamed, fighting to keep herself and the Golden above water. "Somebody help me!" Suddenly, she felt something grab hold of one of her arms and start pulling her through the water. It was the two other alligators! Swimming strongly against the current, they carried her to shore, where Trev was waiting.

"Thank-you Blackclaw, Redeye." Trev smiled at the two gators. "Anaesthesia . . . I'm . . . glad you're okay." he said meekly, avoiding her eyes.

"Oh, Trev." She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him closely.

The Golden had jumped down out of Anaesthesia's arms and had shaken itself dry. It now scurried up to the alligator-king and squeaked. As Anaesthesia watched, she swore that the gator's crocodilian grin was genuine.

"Yes!" she smiled.

"What is it?" Trev asked.

"The Golden wants to make peace with the alligators, now that two of them helped to save his life." Anaesthesia answered, looking up at Trev, who still had his arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Do the gators agree?" she asked.

"Lord Dracyl wants peace just as much as the rats." Trev replied, stepping away from Anaesthesia as he heard the gator-king growl. "Come on, we're being summoned." Trev and Anaesthesia walked over to the animal kings and stood in front of them expectantly.

The Golden and Lord Dracyl began to talk to the Speakers. _Thank-you for saving our lives and the peace of our domains_, they began. _We have never known Speakers with such courage and quick thinking. We will reward you, but first, we much ask a favour of you._ Anaesthesia and Trev nodded, not about to turn down a request of the animal kings.

_We heard that you are looking for the Last Opener, the Lady Door, but we know for a fact that she is not the last. Croup and Vandermer failed to kill one other member of Door's family, her little sister, Ingress. Their employer, the 'Angel' Islington, originally wanted to use Ingress instead of Door for his evil purposes, but she was too young. He abandoned her in the Labyrinth of the Great Beast of London. The Openers have always been kind to both the rats and the sewer gators. You must find the child and return her safely to her sister. Will you please accept this quest?_

Anaesthesia didn't know what to say. As soon as she had heard the names "Croup" and "Vandermer," she was terrified. She hadn't heard of one person in the entire history of London Below who had crossed those two's path and had lived to tell the tale. But Ingress was Door's sister and if Door ever did continue working towards her father's dream of uniting London Below, it would be to every Rat-Speaker's advantage to be associated with her. If Anaesthesia did save Ingress, Door would be more willing to tell her what had happened to Richard. Bravely, but still feeling scared out of her mind, Anaesthesia accepted the mission. "Yes, Golden. I'll do my best to find the girl."

"If she's going, I'm going." Trev said, in an answer to the alligator-king.

The Golden chattered and scurried up to Anaesthesia. _Take a hair from my back_, he commanded her.

_Take a loose scale from the back of my neck_, Lord Dracyl ordered Trev.

_With these gifts_, the animal kings explained, _you can physically transform into a rat or an alligator. It will only work once, though, so save this power until you really need it. All you must do is hold the gift in the palm of your right hand and think about becoming the animal. Redeye and Blackclaw will take you to the entrance of the Labyrinth. Good luck on your quest!_

With that, the rats scurried off into the sewers and Lord Dracyl swam away. Anaesthesia and Trev gently sat down on the backs of the two alligators, who slid into the sewer's stream and swam. "Are you scared?" Anaesthesia asked.

"Very." Trev said. "I hope we don't run into Croup and Vandermer. I had enough trouble with them in Toronto Below and I really don't want to run into them here."

"Forget those two! What about the Great Beast of London?"

"Don't worry, that's why Hunter came to London – to hunt the Great Beast. It's probably dead now," Trev said calmly. "That's Hunter's favourite sport, killing the monsters that live in each City Below. She wiped out the Serpent of Lake Ontario, you know." He added.

"Oh." Anaesthesia said. The information didn't make her feel much better as the alligators carried them on to their fate.

* * *

After hours of floating through sewers, going from one end of London to the other, Anaesthesia and Trev reached the swampy entrance to the Great Labyrinth. "You ready?" Anaesthesia asked Trev as they stepped onto dry land and the two alligators, Redeye and Blackclaw, departed. They didn't want to be in the Labyrinth longer than they had to.

"No." Trev replied, looking around at the swampy landscape nervously. "How about you?"

"I'd rather eat a live cockroach that go on." Anaesthesia said.

"Hey, we're finally agreeing on something!" Trev remarked. "We're both scared out of our minds!"

"If we're scared out of our minds now, what will we do if we see the Beast, or worse, Croup and Vandermer?" Anaesthesia muttered nervously.

"We'll run like hell," Trev answered simply.

* * *

They walked through the swamp, turning corners, praying that after hours of walking, they wouldn't end up back where they started since the Labyrinth had a habit of doing that to people. Soon, they come to a section of swamp reeking of blood. Horrified, Anaesthesia looked towards the source of the smell, and then she saw it, the monster of her nightmares, the Great Beast of London. It was enormous, larger than an elephant, like an immense boar, or ox, or something worse. Its bloodshot, red eyes were open, staring blankly above its huge, razor-sharp tusks. Broken swords, arrows, knives, and spears stuck like pins out of its body, but these little pinpricks were more annoyances than injuries, reminders of would-be slayers who had been slain, but jutting out of its side like a flag for the entire world to see was a single, solitary spear, a weapon that seemed to shine in the dimness with some mystical light. Blood pooled at its base before dripping down the Beast's side to mix with the surrounding water. Anaesthesia couldn't believe it. The Great Beast of London, a creature that had stalked the city for centuries, was dead!

"Good, old Hunter." Trev grinned. "I told you the Beast wouldn't be a problem. I wonder why she didn't take her spear with her, though?" He pulled the spear out of the Beast's side, then almost screamed when the "dead" monster started to breathe. He hastily stabbed the spear back in. "Never mind," he said, guessing that the Beast would remain dead only so long as the spear stuck in its body. Satisfied with the discovery, Trev called out, "Well, come on Anaesthesia. We have a kid to save!" Anaesthesia nodded and followed Trev away from the Beast and into God-knows what.

After walking around aimlessly for another hour, Trev was getting more and more frustrated. "It's hopeless," he sighed, sitting down on a log. "I mean, we've been searching this maze for God-knows how long and we haven't found a trace of that little girl."

"Trev, we can't give up." Anaesthesia reminded him. "Ingress is counting on us! Think of how she must feel: she's a little girl, only three years old, whose family was killed in front of her! Then she was kidnapped and abandoned where she has virtually no chance of being found. Her life may depend on our finding her."

"I guess you're right." Trev admitted. He stood up and noticed a dark path, about 10 metres away from him and Anaesthesia. "What's that?" He wondered, walking towards it.

Anaesthesia followed him to a partially hidden sign. "No man can enter here." She read. "This must be where Ingress is being held. Islington might not have killed her but he did worse, hiding her where no human can reach."

"Who said we had to be human to rescue her?" Trev grinned, pulling the alligator-king's scale out of his pocket and holding it in his hand. "Are you ready?"

Anaesthesia pulled out the rat-king's golden hair. "Ready," she answered. She held the hair in her right hand and thought of the Golden, of actually becoming a rat. Then, she began to change.

The first thing Anaesthesia noticed was that she was shrinking. Everything became larger so fast, it was like she was falling, only her feet were firmly on the ground. Then, her brown hair started to turn a bright golden colour and more fur started forming, sprouting up all over her body. Her clothes had fallen off and now they surrounded the tiny Anaesthesia like a collapsed circus tent as her arms and legs shortened, her body and head changed shape, and a long, skinny, furless tail sprouted from her spine. Her already-dark eyes became even darker, black and beady and her vision faded. Her world was deprived of colour, but she could see the slightest motion. As her ears ballooned and her nose lengthened, she could hear the slightest whisper, smell each scent her nose had once ignored. As whiskers grew out of her cheeks, she could feel vibrations and sense the most careful presence. Anaesthesia's world was now the world of the rat. It was then that she sensed the huge creature above her.

With a startled squeak, Anaesthesia jumped back, narrowly missing the dagger-like teeth of the huge, 9-metre long alligator that Trev had become. _Trev, control yourself!_ she squeaked desperately, surprising herself by speaking in the Rat language. _It's me, Anaesthesia! I'm not your dinner!_

Anaesthesia? Trev growled. He shook his massive head, confused. _I'm sorry . . . I must have lost control for a minute_. One of his huge eyes, as large as Anaesthesia's entire head, looked down at the rat-girl. _I think . . . I can smell something strange. It's not a bad smell; it's actually quite nice, like flowers._

_I can smell it too_. Anaesthesia said, sniffing the air. _I think it's Ingress. We should follow that smell._

_I think you're right_, said Trev. _Here, jump up onto my head_. He lowered his giant head and let the little rat scramble up and sit between his eyes. Trev slid into the stream winding down the path and followed his nose, following it to Ingress.

* * *

_Keep swimming, Trev, we're almost there,_ Anaesthesia encouraged her reptilian friend. _Ingress is so close, I can almost taste her!_

_I'm swimming, I'm swimming_, Trev mumbled. Suddenly, they heard a sound behind them, the sound of a boot stepping into water.

"Well, well, what do we have here? It looks like just an ordinary sewer gator and a mangy little rat, wouldn't you say, Mister Vandermer?"

"But I've never seen a rat riding a gator before, Mister Croup." Two dark figures, wearing odd-styled suits stepped out of the shadows, dragging a frightened girl behind them. "In fact, it's most unusual."

"Most unusual indeed, and I do so love to investigate unusual occurrences," Croup smiled, one of the most hideous sights Anaesthesia had ever seen. "But unfortunately, our employer is expecting us. A pity. I haven't eaten alligator in so long."

"Or a golden-furred rat." Vandermer added.

"But," Croup continued, "I guess we'll have to leave these little tidbits to Fido."

Vandermer whistled and called out: "Here Fido. Come on, boy. We have some treats for you."

"Bon appetit, Fido." Croup grinned wickedly and then he, Vandermer, and the girl disappeared, as suddenly as they had come. A minute later, Anaesthesia heard the sound of paws running through the water towards them.

_Anaesthesia, get out of here, now_! Trev roared. _Go save Ingress. I'll handle Fido._

_But Trev_ . . . Anaesthesia began.

_Don't argue, just go. GO!_

The Rat-Girl jumped off Trev's head to shore and started running, not looking back as she heard jaws snapping, claws slicing, and the feral roars of two beasts locked in a fight to the death.

* * *

Anaesthesia was still in rat form as she scurried down the path. Her nose told her she was very close to Ingress, but she didn't care. She was thinking about Trev. He had risked his life, and had probably died, to ensure that one of them would reach Ingress, or was it more than that? Even though he was rude, rash, and hated rats, Trev had seemed to like her and, Anaesthesia realized, she liked him. _I'll always remember you, Trev_, she thought sadly. Thinking of her lost friend as she crept slowly forward, Anaesthesia suddenly bumped into a soft, object that looked as big as a skyscraper to the Rat-Girl. She looked up and saw a little girl, no older than three, crying as only a lost child can cry and clutching a small, metal, green watering can in her tiny hands. She opened her eyes and even with tiny, almost colourless, rat vision, Anaesthesia could see flashes of what must be red, yellow, purple, blue, and other colours, all swirling together as she moved like the colours of a fire opal. It must be Door's sister, Small Lady Ingress.

Anaesthesia knew the Openers were super-Speakers, able to understand all animals. She scurried up to the crying child and squeaked for her attention. Ingress stopped crying and starred in amazement as Anaesthesia stood up on her hind legs, balancing with her tail, and did a little bow. _Small Lady Ingress,_ she said, smiling as best as a rat could smile. _I'm Anaesthesia and I want to take you to see your sister. Will you come with me?_

Ingress laughed a spontaneous, little girl laugh, happy for the first time in days. She scratched Anaesthesia gently behind the ears. "Door! Ingress wanna see Door, pretty ratty."

* * *

Anaesthesia had been trapped unconscious in the Troll's lair for longer than she had thought. She had missed the Floating Market at the HMS Belfast and now, with Ingress following, was on her way to the next one, at St. Paul's Cathedral. She had been trying to find Door for the past few days but the girl was always on the move. She would surely meet her at the Floating Market.

* * *

"Well, Lady Door, you had quite an adventure. What are you going to do now?" a large, burly, but at the same time gentle-looking man asked the young noblewoman standing near his stall.

"Well, I'm not going to Disney World, Hammersmith." Door answered sarcastically. Then, she sighed, and leaned back against the stall. "I'm still hoping my sister is out there somewhere. I'll never stop looking until I find her. I just wish Richard hadn't decided to go back to London Above so soon, though. I'm really going to miss him." She looked around the bustling marketplace, watching all the people as they went about their business. An air of joy hanged in the Floating Market today, since it was now well known that Croup and Vandermer, the worse villains the entire World Below had probably ever known, were dead, flung by Door into the event horizon of a black hole. "Hammersmith, look!" Door suddenly yelled excitedly. Holding the hand of a girl not much older than herself was he little sister! "Ingress!" Door shouted, and ran towards her.

"Door!" Ingress squealed. Letting go of Anaesthesia's hand, she toddled to her sister and jumped into her arms. The two hugged tightly.

"Oh Ingress! I thought I'd never see you again!" Door cried happily. Anaesthesia smiled, happy to see the sisters reunited. At last, Door let go of her sister long enough to say. "Thank-you so much for returning my sister to me Miss . . .?"

"Anaesthesia. I'm a Rat-Speaker."

"And a pretty rat," Ingress giggled.

"What?" Door asked.

"It's a long story," Anaesthesia blushed.

"Hallo Door!" a voice suddenly called from across the room. "Look who got sick of his 'normal' life and wanted to come back to us." It was the Marquis De Carabas and beside him, wearing an ear-to-ear grin, strode a familiar Upworlder.

"Richard!" Door yelled and raced to her friend.

"Um, hello. I'm back." Richard grinned, hugging Door. "You were right after all. Life in London Above is boring." He then noticed the Rat-Speaker and his smile grew even wider. "Anaesthesia! I thought you were dead!" He let go of Door gave Anaesthesia a hug.

"I thought you were too." Anaesthesia smiled, glad to see that her Upworlder friend had indeed survived. She soon learned that her had not only lived, he was a hero in London Below now, the Slayer of the Great Beast! She couldn't believe it, the cowardly Upworlder was now a hero!

"I guess we're all reunited now," Door said gladly. After all she had been through herself, the Rat-Girl's story still amazed her.

"Not all of us," Anaesthesia sighed. She still had Trev on her mind. Why did her friend, no, the man she loved, have to come to such an untimely, unfair end? She wished with all her heart that she could see him, just one last time.

"Anaesthesia!" a voice suddenly called across the crowded marketplace.

Anaesthesia's face lit up. She'd recognize that voice anywhere! She blinked her eyes a few times, to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and turned around. Even though his T-shirt was now green instead of red, his hair had been trimmed and a blue hoop earring now dangled from one of his pointy, elfin ears, she recognized the owner of the voice in a second! "Trev!" She yelled, jumping up and running into his arms. Trev threw his arms around Anaesthesia and kissed her passionately, and a feeling like an electric shock sizzled through their bodies. They never, ever wanted to let go.

* * *

"So where's Hunter?" Trev asked Door. He still had his arm wrapped protectively around Anaesthesia's shoulders.

Door looked at her feet. "Hunter died, trying to kill the Great Beast of London."

"Ah, geez, not again!" Trev moaned. "I hope she had the sense to go see Serpentine before pulling that little stunt."

"Yeah, we saw Serpentine. Why?" Door asked.

"The Seven Sisters are famous for their resurrection rites and Hunter's one of their favourite customers. How else do you think she's lived so long?" Trev replied. "Well, I'd better go see Serpentine and make sure she doesn't screw anything up. See you later Door, Richard, Hammersmith, Marquis, Ingress. Geez, that's a long list." He kissed Anaesthesia lightly on the cheek, unable to say goodbye to her. Then, Trev started to walk towards the Cathedral's huge doors.

Anaesthesia stared after him. He had just come back to her and now, Trev had to leave again? Door took her hand. "Go on," she smiled. "He needs you."

"Thanks, I needed that," Anaesthesia smiled. She looked down at little Ingress.

"Ana's going away?" the little three year-old asked.

"Yes, sweetie. Your big sister Door is going to take care of you now. I promise I'll come back and visit you, though," Anaesthesia said gently. She had become so fond of Ingress in the past few days. She hugged Ingress, and then Door and Richard, goodbye. "Goodbye! I'll come back someday!" Anaesthesia promised her friends.

"Trev, wait up!" Anaesthesia cried, as she ran after her boyfriend.

"Anaesthesia, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Door and Ingress," said Trev, although he was very happy to see her.

"If you're going, I'm going." Anaesthesia smiled, mimicking what he had once told the alligator-king. "That is, if you don't mind having a Rat-Girl like me around."

"Not at all," Trev laughed, hugging Anaesthesia tightly.

"That reminds me," she added. "Just how did you manage to beat Fido?"

"What? Croup and Vandermer's little pet? I'm still picking bits of him out of my teeth." Trev grinned. "He was no match for Trev, the Great Gator-Man!"

"Whatever. So after we see how Hunter's going, where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, just hang around London until I find something useful to do?" Trev joked.

"I've got a better idea. Why don't we go to Toronto Below? I'd love to see Canada. Besides, I think you're kind of homesick."

"Okay, Toronto it is." Trev laughed, looking affectionately at his girlfriend. "Why stop there? We could see Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, anywhere you want to go! The world is ours to see!"

"Great idea." Anaesthesia smiled and kissed Trev lovingly. She looked forward to her new life with the man she loved, a life of travelling the world, finding new adventures. All this for one girl who, just days ago, had been a simple, everyday Rat-Speaker. Anaesthesia, the Rat-Girl.

_Finis_


End file.
